Danganronpa: Depths of Hope
by A. Zarko
Summary: What happens when sixteen students are brought together to become the best they can be? What happens when a creepy bear appears before them during their opening ceremony and tells them the only way out is to murder someone and get away with it? Follow Edward Dean, Ultimate Horror Writer, as he tries to figure out the secrets of Linback University and survive the Mutual Killing Game
1. Bus Trip (Prologue I)

_It was August 25_ _th_ _. The last day of my true freedom from the prison I was forced to attend for the last eighteen years, and what a way to end it—I got the chance to board the bus that'd ship me off to the next prison—and this one is gonna hold me for another four years. Well, I can't say it'd be too bad. I got my darling and buddy boarding with me._

"Edward, shut up," the girl next to him said. It didn't take a second warning to make him to do as she said.

"Aw, come on," he groaned as he looked away. "I need something to do on this boring trip to the campus."

"If you need to do something, try to figure out why there's only about four of us on the bus," she responded with a growl.

"What do you think I am? Some ace detective that can solve any problem just by looking at it?" He retorted as he stuck his tongue out at her. "If anything, I'm just a horror writer with an extremely ordinary life."

"You can't have an ordinary life to be able to get into this college," she laughed as she pulled out her earbuds. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to fill my time more wisely."

Edward sighed as he leaned back into the seat of the bus. He saw the trees fly by his face as he looked out the window. He turned back to the girl he argued with. She looked out the opposite window with her head in the palm of her hand connected to the armrest. Truth be told, this was the first time they had actually met. Before the four students boarded the bus, the counselor had them introduce themselves with their names and a little about themselves.

 **XXX**

" _Alright, the little geniuses of the next generation, before we board, I want to go over a little exercise with all of you. I want you to go around in the circle and introduce yourself," the counselor said as he smiled. "I'll start you guys off. My name is Alexander Lincoln, and I'm the Ultimate Guidance Counselor," he smiled wider as he turned towards Edward. "How about you go now?"_

 _Edward sighed and turned to the other three students. If anything he had to just speak to the two girls, as he was best friends with the other boy. "My name is Edward Dean and I'm the Ultimate_ _Horror Writer."_

* * *

 **Edward Dean  
** **Ultimate** **Horror Writer  
** _ **Equipped with his book smarts, and his words, he was  
ready to face the challenges that approached him.**_

* * *

" _I guess I'll go next, since it doesn't seem too hard—especially since a writer managed to come up with a vivid description of himself," the girl next to him said. "My name is Taylor Elusory, and I'm the_ _Ultimate_ _Seamstress."_

* * *

 **Taylor Elusory  
** **Ultimate** **Seamstress  
** _ **Standing at about five foot three, she is anything but tiny. Her voice is large  
enough to carry a distance and her ego much larger than that.**_

* * *

 _"Ooh, me next," the girl to her left excitedly chimed in. "My name is Barbara Zalot and I'm the_ _Ultimate_ _Waitress, but you can just call me Babs. All of my friends do it."_

* * *

 **Barbara Zalot  
** **Ultimate** **Waitress  
** _ **Energetic and wild, Babs likes to make sure that everyone around  
her is happy. However, just make sure to never tell her she is wrong.**_

* * *

" _Let's be the best of friends," she added before she was cut off by the seamstress._

" _Tone it down a bit there, you little cupcake," she groaned as she crossed her arms and looked away. "I don't understand how any of you really got accepted into this school."_

" _And how exactly did you get accepted? I really don't see anything promising coming from you, nor that meager attire you decided to don," Edward spoke up as he, too, crossed his arms._

 _The seamstress laughed before she turned back to the writer. "Aren't we full of bunk? Listen, kid, it's best not to get involved in a matter of a cat fight."_

" _Now, now, let's not resort to violence. LU wants everyone to lead a life of peace and prosperity, not the unneeded violence and jealousy that has arisen from greed," Alex quickly interjected, placing a hand on both kids. "Now, we still have one more student that needs to introduce himself." He added as he motioned over to the giant boy to his left._

" _My name? It's Richard Farran. I'm the_ _Ultimate_ _Lineman," he said practically emotionless._

* * *

 **Richard Farran  
** **Ultimate** **Lineman  
** _ **Richard is by no means a little man. His shoulders are broad  
enough to hide the sun if you would stand behind him.**_

* * *

 _"There, now everyone has introduced themselves. Can we please get going? I'm getting tired of looking at an ugly excuse of a writer," Taylor said as she looked away from Edward._

 _"Yes, yes. You may now enter the bus," the Counselor nodded as he waved them on with his hand. "Unfortunately, I must wait here for the other buses to arrive. You four may go on ahead and wait inside the gymnasium for the rest of the students, alright?"_

 **XXX**

Edward sighed as he slid down into the bus seat a bit. He still had his anxiety, but nothing would be able to stop him from getting into the school of his dreams. He looked back over at the girl in the opposite seat. He had to admit, he liked the way she parted her hair—it definitely sat better than the hair on his head. His was always fluffed up, like what his mom considered "a bobcats' fur." Hers, on the other hand, was cut short—just to about the base of her neck and the front laid to the side of her head, tucked neatly behind her ear.

"Eddy, you're staring," his friend said as he leaned over into the writer's seat. The latter jumped up a bit before he turned to the lineman.

"Shut up, Frankenstein," the writer said as he motioned a neck slice with his hand. He placed his hand on his heart, feeling it beat a little faster.

The lineman rolled his eyes and motioned over to the girl Edward stared at. "So, you like her, eh?" He asked as raised his eyebrows twice consecutively.

"I said shut up, you big oaf," the writer groaned as he pushed the lineman back down into his own seat. The latter rolled his eye before moving over into the same seat as his friend. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Sitting with a friend, duh," he responded with an eye roll. "Look, I need your help. Babs, back there, decided to sit next to me, and you know how I am with girls. I need your help… Please?"

"You know I can't even help myself in the matter, so how would I be able to help you?" Edward asked. It was true; he did have a pretty bad track record with the ladies. "All I would be able to do is sit there with you. I don't think I would be able to help talk at all."

"That's good! That's all I need—I just need someone there to make it comfortable," he smiled as he got up. He grabbed onto the edge of the headrest to keep his balance as the bus rocked back and forth through the rugged terrain of the mountain. Edward followed him slowly as he walked back to the seat with Babs.

As soon as Richard sat down, Babs moved closer and stared up at him with a lovestruck look in her eyes. Edward sighed to himself as he sat down in the seat in front of them.

"Babs, this is my friend Edward," Richard motioned to the seat in front of him. "Edward, this is Babs. You two probably already remember each other from the meeting before we boarded the bus."

"Uh-huh," Barbara giggled before she sighed happily. "Edward, right?" She turned to the boy in front of her. "What do you think of Ricky here?"

"What do I think of him?" Edward repeated, a little shocked she would ask him almost immediately. "Well," he started, "he is a great friend when you need him the most and he usually will agree with anything you have to say."

"That's nice…" she slowly said as she sighed again. "I think he is a handsome guy that would protect you no matter the circumstance," she added in a coy giggle. Richard just blushed in response.

The three of them lurched forward as the bus halted to an immediate stop. "Alright, you sorry excuses of students, get off my bus, or I'll have to let the dean know you're being a public menace," the bus driver yelled back to the kids in the back. Edward immediately stood up and scurried off the bus. Richard and Babs took their time getting off—mainly as Babs stuck to Richard's arm.

 _There, in front of me, stood the most important place I would ever set foot in. Linback University. It looked better in person than it did in the pictures. Of course, everything looked better that way, but I digress. Armed with my book smarts, and the two friends from the bus, I looked forward to the best time of my life. Just imagine the_ _joy and_ _–_ _ _–_ **Murder and Sacrifice we would go through just in the first year of us attending…**_


	2. The Meet Up (Prologue II)

The bus roared away from the four students that just got off the bus. Edward watched as the school gates closed behind it, imprisoning them within the school walls. He turned back to the entrance to the university, only to receive a shiver up his spine. He had never been away from home before, and now, all of a sudden, he was to live the rest of his life in this university designed to make you the best student in the world.

"Come on," Richard nudged Edward before he walked—with Babs still on his arm—into the main tower. Even this one had a color to it—orange, like the burning of the sun as it sets. The latter sighed to himself as he walked in behind them. He could see the layout of the University looked similar to his high school. Main office on the left side and dining area connected to the back wall. The biggest difference was the guidance office to the opposite side of the main office, with two flights of stairs—one on each side of the main tower.

Richard strolled up to the bulletin displaying different events happening in the school, along with a map pointing out the different areas of the school. The only thing posted was an announcement for a Congratulation Ceremony, in the gymnasium at exactly eight at night. He stepped to the map and placed his finger on the "You Are Here" symbol. He connected to the purple building labeled Plant Hall, then the red one labeled Willis Tower.

With nothing written on either, he went to the Jenkins Hall in the upper right hand corner—which, surprisingly enough to him, didn't have anything written on it either. In a final attempt to find the gymnasium, he followed his finger over to the blue building titled Füller Hall. He let out a long sigh as he found the place he had been searching for.

"Looks like we head to Füller Hall, but it says we are to stay in the cafeteria until further notice," he said as he looked back at the other three members of his group. Edward and Babs nodded at him, but there wasn't a reply from Taylor. She just bobbed her head to the beat of her music. The writer, who stood behind her, mocked the way she bobbed, which made both Richard and Babs burst out laughing. Taylor turned around just in time to see Edward doing his mimic.

"What the hell are you doing?" She growled as she yanked out one earbud. She shifted her weight onto one foot, and placed a hand on her hip. "Well, weirdo? What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing," he replied after he rolled his eyes. "I was just showing these guys how to bob their head, that's all. You don't have to get so worked up over nothing," he added as he crossed his arms.

Before the writer knew what he got himself into, he saw Richard and Babs take a step back once they saw the seamstress yank the other ear out. She stuffed them both into her pocket before she walked up to the writer. "Looks like the big, boisterous buster likes to try to belittle this terrifying tank," she said cooly,

"Little lying leach," Edward growled as he got closer to the seamstress. At this point, they were nose to nose with steam coming off of both heads.

"Least I'm a person that can use her intelligence to figure out something as simple as why there were only four people on the bus," she snapped back.

"But with that great intelligence, it's as if you're compensating for your extinct humor. Wait, you hear that? I think it's your soul blowing away with the wind," he took a step back, but stuck his head towards her and held a hand to his ear.

She pushed his head back in anger and pulled back to the furthest she could go. All at once, she released her punch to the fullest power she could, but there was no connection. Edward opened his eyes, after cowering a bit, to find that her punch had been intercepted by the lineman from his childhood. "Now, you should know not to waste your time beating up the weak," he reminded her with a smile.

"Hey!" Edward cried out as he threw his arms up into the air.

"Yeah, you're right," Taylor sighed and brushed her dress flat. "I'm sorry for acting like an asshole just then," she said as she looked away. Quickly, she stuck her hand out.

"Why do you have your hand out?" Edward asked a little too earnestly. It's not like he didn't have a clue, but with this girl, he really didn't have a clue.

"Just shake my hand, dumbass," Taylor growled and shoved her hand closer to him. Hesitantly, he reached out for her hand. Once they met, she took it and shook twice before she released it altogether. "Now I have to burn this hand."

"And I, too," Edward mocked as he motioned a lighter in the other hand. With his thumb, he lit the imaginary lighter before he placed it under the hand that shook hers. She reached forward and pushed the writer again, only to stomp off into the cafeteria.

"Edward, why do you have to be so mean to girls?" Richard asked as he shook his head. Babs shook her head as well, clinging to the big guy of her dreams. "Don't you know she is only trying to make friends?"

"Friends? That girl picked on me and me only. She didn't bother with you two, so don't try to pull the _friends_ card on me," Edward growled at them. He quickly sighed and looked at the door to the cafeteria. "Ugh, fine. If she really wants to be friends, I _guess_ I'll lower my standards."

Before his friend could respond, he opened the door to the cafeteria. He took two steps in before being greeted by a rat looking man. The man pointed a box up to the writer's face with an excited expression. His expression quickly changed when nothing happened. He withdrew his box and held out his hand.

"Sorry 'bout that. I'm just checkin' every one to see if they got some spirit with them," he said with a chuckle. Without Edward giving it up, the man shook his hand before continuing his talk. "My name is Leonard Rayne, and I'm the Ultimate Paranormal Investigator! But you can just call me Lenny."

* * *

 **Leonard Rayne  
** **Ultimate** **Paranormal Investigator  
** _ **Leonard always comes equipped for his adventures in  
his backpack, but those come up very rarely.**  
_

* * *

Edward raised an eyebrow at the man's sudden introduction. He could tell the paranormal investigator had somewhat of a matching attire. He had an Oak tracksuit with a black belt holding his pants up—to which Edward noticed how baggy they were on him. On the back of the man, he noticed a rucksack filled to the brim with… something, most likely of that pertaining to the man's talent.

"Enough about me, what's your name?" Lenny asked as he smiled up the writer. On top of him looking like a rat, the paranormal investigator stood shorter than the writer.

"Oh, me? My name is Edward Dean, and I'm the Ultimate Horror Writer," he replied. He knew it wasn't right, but he turned away from the man and looked for the girl from before.

"Looking for someone?" A voice from behind him asked. Edward jumped a little and moved to the side, nearly colliding with Lenny. The former turned and looked up at the burly man before him. The burly man had an orange, yellow, and white colored pair of track pants, with a black t-shirt. On it read, with big orange letters, "Michigan City Fire Department."

"Uhm, no, not really," Edward replied hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he had answered correctly or not, but the burly man chuckled.

"We're never usually in search of someone, but they always appear when you least expect it," he said before he held out his hand. "I'm Aiden McKay and I'm the Ultimate Firefighter, as if you couldn't already tell."

* * *

 **Aiden McKay  
** **Ultimate** **Firefighter  
** _ **Ready to go at any time, Aiden is the first line of fire  
to fight the fire of any situation.**  
_

* * *

After a quick introduction from Edward, Aiden continued talking. "So, since I'm going to be calling you Eddy, you might as well call me by my nickname too," he smirked.

"And what would that be? Aidey?" Edward mocked as he crossed his arms. The firefighter rolled his eyes and gently smacked the writer's shoulder.

"Of course not, Eddy. The nickname's Blayze," he replied with his usual approval—he pivoted his shoulder to the side and stuck up his thumb, with it placed against his chest; the grin finished his pose.

"Well, nice to meet you, Blayze," Edward waved slightly before he moved deeper into the cafeteria. He could see that there were more than just the six students there. He counted an additional ten before he spotted the girl he wanted to apologize to talking to a group of other girls. He looked to the side, where a bunch of guys were gathering.

Over in the corner, a girl in a long black dress and a black veil covering the backside of her head. Slowly, Edward walked over to the girl and raised an eyebrow—somewhat because of the weird outfit—at the mumbling she did under her breath.

"Dear holy father up above, please help everyone achieve their dreams of reaching their professions. No one should draw the short end of this promising adventure. Also allow—"

"Uhm, what are you doing?" Edward asked as he stopped at the side of her.

Almost like the reaction he gave to Aiden, she cried out in surprise as she nearly collided into him. She collected her bearings and quickly adjusted herself. "Oh, hello there, young sir. I didn't happen to see you, and thus I deeply apologize." She gently dipped down in a bow-like manner before readjusting her cap.

"Oh, no, it's alright. In fact, I kinda snuck up on you," he said, now with a little guilt. "I, too, deeply apologize," he added as he bowed to her.

"My, my… what a sweet little guy you are," she giggled before clamping her hands together, "my name is Sister Maria Amadei and my talent is a nun."

* * *

 **Sister Maria Amadei  
** **Ultimate** **Nun  
** _ **She lives for God and everything righteous**_ **,** _ **but when it's fight or  
flight, she'll always choose the latter.**_

* * *

Edward smiled a little after Maria smiled at him. He had to admit, she did have the tenderness in her voice to be a nun. He also had to admit he admired the blonde color her hair gave off when the light from the cafeteria shone down upon it.

"And what would you like me to call you?" She asked politely as she stared at him. He answered her, along with the talent he obtained. "So your name is Edward, eh? My, what a cute name for such a cute child."

"Th-thank you," he replied sheepishly as he looked away. He could feel his cheeks burning up a little, despite her calling him little. "I, uhm… Sister, I need some help."

"And what would that be, my child?"

"Well," he looked to the ground and sighed. "I kinda messed up with a girl and I want to make it up to her," he looked up at the nun, "but I don't know if I can approach her without her getting mad at me."

"Why would I get mad at you in particular?" The familiar voice asked from behind him. He spun around and put his hands up to protect his face. When nothing happened, he slowly lowered them and looked at her. "What in god's name are you doing?"

"I know you're just going to pretend to make it up to me, then punch me in the face. How could I ever forget how mad you were when you stormed in here?" Edward asked as he held his hands in front of his neck.

The seamstress sighed softly and took his hands into hers. She lowered them to his sides before letting them free, with a little lingering touch of her fingertips to his. "Because I apologized, dumbass," she said before she rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Uhm… Excuse me, miss?" The nun to the side of Edward piped up as she stepped in front of the writer. "Can you please not use such profanity in the presence of a servant of God?" The seamstress took two steps back and raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Sister Maria Amadei. May I ask what yours is?"

"Is this some kind of joke? Why would a nun be admitted into a school like this?" Taylor asked no one in particular but crossed her arms in annoyance. "Well?"

"Why would admit a seamstress into a school like this?" Edward mocked her from behind the nun. "No one takes the time to buy clothes made by hand anymore, so you should just switch to another talent, otherwise, you're going to go out with the rest of the clothes from grandma."

"At least mine aren't made in a sweatshop over in China," Taylor growled back as she reared up her fist. "Get out from behind covers, you coward!"

"Make me!" Edward called out with a small chuckle. He could tell she was getting mad, but he could see a smile on her lips as she prepared her punch.

The seamstress kept her fist behind her, but moved to the other side of the nun to meet with Edward. With full force, she swung towards the writer's face. He closed his eyes and prepared for the punch to make contact.

"Cut!" A voice called out, followed by nothing. Edward lowered his hands to see that a new fellow stepped in between him and the girl. "You must not hit the actors!"

"Shut up and move out of the way before I pulverize you as well!" Taylor growled as she tried to push past him. The man let her slip past her a few inches, before he slipped his arms under hers and grabbed hold of her neck. "Let go of me!"

"Not if you're going to beat up the other actor," he warned without his hold faltering. He turned to the writer and glared. "And who said you could anger the actress?"

"I was never told I was an actor!" Edward replied as he suddenly felt defenseless.

The man shook his head and sighed. "Life is a play one performs without redoes. It's either you perfect your past performances, or you let those mistakes haunt you the rest of the duration," he replied as he took a step away from the boy. He released the girl, who crossed her arms and looked away. "Good, you're not being a little rowdy rebel," he chuckled before he turned to the writer again. "The name's Orson Myles, and I'm the Ultimate Stage Director."

* * *

 **Orson Myles  
** **Ultimate** **Stage Director  
** _ **Known for his different productions**_ _ **, he doesn't care if the actors like him or not.  
Of course, he would rather have the productions go flawlessly...**_

* * *

"Nice to meet you, Orson. My name is Edward Dean and I'm the Ultimate Horror Writer," the writer responded as he held out his hand. The director stared down at it, before sighing and accepting the shake.

"Et tu, Edward," he responded before turning back to the seamstress. "Come on back over by the rest of us… Oh," he turned his head back to the two, "you can come if you'd like. Then you'd be able to meet everyone else here."

"That'd be delightful," Maria chimed in before she joined the line forming behind Taylor. "Let's go meet more friends, Eddy." Without even saying anything, Edward joined behind her and followed the three to the rest of the group.

Aiden and Lenny stood on opposite sides of Richard as they huddled around the boy circle. Next to the paranormal investigator stood a boy in a pair of green shorts and an orange tank top. His black hair was spiked up in the front that resulted in one resembling a cockatiel's top. As soon as Edward walked up to the group, the spikey haired boy took a step closer and drove his fist straight towards the writer's face. Upon instinct, he raised up his hands, only to hear the sound of laugher.

"See? Told you everyone will react the same way," the boy said. Edward felt a hand be placed on his shoulder. "You can lower you defense now. No one is going to hit you in this group, as long as you aren't rude to any of the girls, that is."

"I wouldn't tell him that, Cath, he might get the wrong impression about us," said another boy to his right, right before a growl from in front of him. Edward slowly lowered his hands, just in time to see the spikey haired boy with his hands locked with another's.

"Again with the fighting?" Aiden asked as he tried to step in between the two. "Don't you two ever get tired of yelling at each other? Geez, you're like two children!"

"What does he mean by again?" Edward asked as he moved over to the side of Richard.

The lineman laughed as he shook his head at the sight of the little scuffle. "Those two, from what I've seen, love to get physical, with them only backing down when one loses. Don't get me wrong, I think it's pretty funny, but they go on forever. Plus, Aiden sometimes gets involved with such fights—especially when it's with Law," he said before he stepped up to help Aiden. He grabbed both boys by the shoulder closest to him and pushed the two away from each other. "That's enough from both of you."

"He started it though…" Cath mumbled beneath his breath.

"And I'm ending it, so introduce yourselves to my best friend," Richard said as he lowered his voice menacingly.

"Oh, right! I forgot about that…" He replied as he rubbed his neck. He stuck out his hand and smiled. "My name is Cathaoir McNeil, but call me Cath like the rest of them, and I'm the Ultimate Boxer."

* * *

 **Cathaoir McNeil  
** **Ultimate** **Boxer  
** _ **When your role model is a boxer from another country, you really don't get much of a chance.  
However, Cath worked five hours a day, four times a week, and look at him now.**  
_

* * *

The other man pushed away the boxer's hand away and stepped in between him and the writer. Edward raised an eyebrow at the motion and looked him up and down. The man had a dark red—which Edward believed to be a Cadmium Red Deep, all from the time he and his mom had to worry about the colors of his clothes due to eighth grade formal—dress shirt tucked into his dark tan khakis. Over top of the dress shirt, he wore a Cadbury Cream leather vest, and around his neck, he wore a dark brown bandana. To complete the outfit, the man donned a black fedora (tipped to the side, revealing some of his dirty blonde hair) and a gun holster on his hip.

"Howdy, partner! You can just call me Lawrence "Law" Harris, and I'm the sheriff of this school," he laughed as he winked and tipped the fedora. "Nice to meet-ya, par'ner!"

* * *

 **Lawrence Harris  
** **Ultimate** **Sheriff  
** _ **With his over dominant personality, he likes to be the one to  
lead the group through the bad times.**_

* * *

"Nice to meet you too, lassy," Cath jumped in. He pushed the sheriff out of the way before the latter returned the push.

"Who are you callin' a lassy, Angelica?" He asked as he raised his fists towards the other boy, whom did the same. Edward sighed as the two began to throw punches at one another. He turned around to walk over to someone more mature, when he met a new face in his own.

The face had the pinkest cheeks Edward has ever seen, along with a very glossy set of black hair (which had been pushed over to the side and made of plastic). As for the outfit, he wore a nicely pressed grey suit along with a white handkerchief inside the pocket.

"Hi," the mouth lowered before remaining in the upward position. Edward looked at the body connected to the head and followed it to the operator. Edward looked between the wooden figure and the person controlling him, slightly confused as to why they were dressed exactly the same.

"Okay, which one is the dummy here?" He asked as he held back his laughter. The two looked at each other before glaring back at the writer. "Sorry, sorry. I just had to say the joke."

"Say what you want, but I'll have you know Carver and I are the most know ventriloquist act in the world," the puppet proclaimed as he raised his hand. "Him and I? We're one… you dig?"

Edward, unsure if this Carver kid was serious or not, just nodded and looked around the room. "So, uhm, why are you more towards the back of the group?"

"We just arrived here," he responded, "so we haven't had the time to actually get acquainted with everyone, duh. But since we have your attention, we would like to introduce ourselves. My name is Jeffrey Ward and my wooden friend up there is Carver Landau. Together, we're make the Ultimate Ventriloquist act."

* * *

 **Carver Landau  
** **Ultimate** **Ventriloquist  
** _ **Often times, you'll get an earful from the puppets in his hand,  
but never will you hear Carver speak his mind.**_

* * *

With a quick introduction of himself, Edward quickly apologized for the sudden departure and made his way to the others to side—more specifically, Richard and Aiden. He took a quick glimpse over at the girl circle and saw almost every girl laughing about something.

In the girl's circle, everyone laughed as hard as they could—well, all except for Babs. "There's no way you're telling the truth!" Babs yelled as her face turned as red as her uniform. She had been talking with the rest of the girls before Taylor came over with _great news_. This _great news_ had been directed at the waitress, and no one else. The girls would have to pair up with another guy and bunk in the same room as them for the duration of their stay.

"Oh, I'm very much telling the truth. What's even better, I heard that Richard would love to bunk with you!" Taylor cried out as she, too, started to die from laughter.

Babs looked over at the boy circle with love in her eyes. "I never knew he felt that way about me… I must be the luckiest girl in the world…"

"Sister Babs, do not take stock in what she says. She spreads too many lies for her to be considered a spirited kin," Maria spoke softly as she turned the waitress's head back towards the group. "And you mustn't think such thoughts at such an age. It's quite inappropriate."

"I don't care if I go to hell for loving Richard!" The waitress yelled again and turned to face the nun. The rest of the girls in the group were laughing continuously at the situation.

Taylor motioned for them to quiet down, so the boys didn't get suspicious of what went down over in their circle. She went over and pulled the rest of the girls over so they could talk amongst themselves.

"Pretty funny stuff you did there," the one said to the left of Taylor.

"She totally believed you," chimed in the one to the right of Taylor.

"I know I laughed, but I don't think I should have… I mean, she's experiencing love at first sight like most of have or will experience at some point in our lives…" sighed the one opposite of the first girl that spoke.

"God, you're such a virgin," the fourth one said, whom stood between the first and third girl.

"A-am not!" The third girl exclaimed as she raised up both her hands that were clenched up into fists.

"Easy there tiger, save that pounce for one of the guys," Taylor said as she lowered the girl's hands. "Why don't you guys introduce yourself to me? We've been talking for a minute or two, and I still don't know your names."

"Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" The fourth girl questioned.

Taylor shrugged and raised her eyebrow at the girl. "Cocky one, ain'tcha? You're right, though. I should introduce myself first. My name is Taylor Elusory and I'm the Ultimate Seamstress." She smiled as she held out her hand.

The first girl took her hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Hello Taylor! You can call me Mabel Tanner. I'm usually referred to as the Ultimate Cowgirl," she said as she pulled away. Taylor could see how anyone could make the inference. The cowgirl wore a flannel shirt cut off above her midriff, with the end tied into a knot; she sported a matching set of denim shorts and vest. Down at her feet, the seamstress could see a pair of white boots that came up to the middle of her shin.

* * *

 **Mabel Tanner**  
 **Ultimate** **Cowgirl  
** _ **Most of the people that know her would easily say she's a little  
out there, but overall, she's a good kid. **_

* * *

"Oh, look, the cowgirl is always the first no matter the situation," the second girl laughed as she nudged the cowgirl. The latter blushed a little once she realized the reference. "Looks like it's my turn, eh?"

"No, lemme go second!" The third girl called out as she pushed her way over to the seamstress's hand. "Hello, I'm Lauraine Allen and if you need any help with a training regimen, you can come to me," she said as she shook the girl's hand.

* * *

 **Lauraine Allen  
** **Ultimate** **Coach  
** _ **No matter the stress she is faced with, Lauraine always sees the light at the end  
of the table, even if she is facing the entrance. **_

* * *

Taylor chuckled a little as the coach's whistle bounced against her chest as their hands shook and her brown hair had been pulled back into a pony tail. She wore a black track pants with a grey sweatshirt that hid most of her body features.

"You're almost like your friend there," Taylor said before turning to the two remaining girls. "And we have two left… Hmm, you first." She pointed to the girl in the dress that looked like it was meant to belong in a museum.

"Victoria Floros, Radio Announcer," she responded before she flashed a smile.

* * *

 **Victoria Floros  
** **Ultimate** **Radio Announcer  
** _ **Quick tongued and a quick mind are key, and Victoria easily posses both-  
just wait until you hear her in action.**  
_

* * *

"But you can call me Tori like everyone else in the room. Why? I have no idea. I guess they just don't want to take the time to say my whole name—I don't blame them, though. Even I don't take the time to say everyone's full name…" She paused to catch her breath, but the other girl cut her off with her hand.

"That's enough, Little Windy," she laughed a little before she turned to the seamstress. This one had an outfit that practically drowned her—the tank top was so baggy, it left barely anything to the imagination, and the only thing that showed was the wetsuit underneath it. "Alright, my turn! My name is Sydne Reid, and I'm the best Scuba Diver in the world!"

* * *

 **Sydne Reid  
** **Ultimate** **Scuba Diver  
** _ **She's a little energetic bunny but she is as fragile as glass deep down inside-  
she even had a breakdown after she fought with a friend.**_

* * *

"Nice to meet the both of you," the seamstress laughed as she looked back over to the two that were arguing over sin and love, only to see them talking with a new girl. She walked over to them and wrapped an arm around the waitress's neck. "So, who is the new girl?"

The girl in question rolled her eyes before opening her mouth and saying: "My name is Misty Alta, and I presume you're Taylor Elusory. It is a great displeasure to meet you." She turned to the wide and walked back over to the table she had been sitting at.

"What's her problem?" Taylor asked as she turned to face the nun and waitress.

The two rolled their eyes, almost exactly like Misty did. The latter was the first to speak. "It's because she doesn't like what you did to me! She agreed with me that you should burn in he—"

"That you should just burn," the nun interjected before she smiled at her friend. "That's what she meant to say. Isn't that right?"

The waitress nodded before turning back to Misty at the table. She waved her over, and after a few minutes of nothing happening, the girl got up and went back over to the group. "What do you want?" She said, mostly directed at Taylor.

"You were nice enough to introduce yourself to us, why don't you fully introduce yourself to her?" Babs motioned to the seamstress. There was a long break of silence before she sighed and nodded.

The seamstress immediately noticed the blue jeans and white undershirt. _She looks too much like a greaser to be anything of importance,_ she thought to herself and restrained herself from laughing. Over top of the undershirt, she could now notice another white button down shirt—only, this one was brighter than the first—a titanium white, if she had to identify the color.

"If I really must, my name is Misty Alta, and I'm the Ultimate Painter," she said before she turned away from the girl.

* * *

 **Misty Alta  
** **Ultimate** **Painter  
** _ **Silent and composed, Misty has that cool composure but her temper can  
hit the high end of the spectrum is tempted.**  
_

* * *

Taylor opened her mouth to return the full introduction, but the screech of the speakers overhead cut her off. "Ahem! Ahem! Is this thing on? Oh, good!"

Each student gave each other a glance before the voice continued. "Alright, children of the future world, it is now seven thirty. You have exactly thirty minutes before you must go to the gymnasium and take part in the welcoming ceremony. I, Alexander Lincoln, hope to see you all—you all—you all—"

"Damn it, I told them this stupid cassette player wasn't as good as they said it was," another voice came on. "If you want things done the right way, you must do it yourself—Oh shit, is this thing still on?" It didn't take long before the students in the cafeteria to crack up. "Oh, is this funny to you all? Maybe you'll find it hilarious once I activate this!"

As soon as they finished their sentence, all lights from the outside world were cut off by large security shutters that dropped down one at a time. No one moved, as they were all taken aback in shock. Once the final shutter dropped, it was that Mabel called out in a fit of fear. "What in blazin' shit is this?!"

Sydne and Lenny both ran up to the windows and started to bang on them. However, the other students didn't move a muscle. They still couldn't comprehend what the hell just happened.

"Good! I now have your full attention," the voice from the loud speaker called out. "As you may have seen, the windows are now no longer a means of escape. In fact, every window is shut tightly by metals sheets such as those; the front doors are locked and hidden behind two metal cages. All of this means one simple thing. You are not allowed to leave—ever."

"What do you mean? You can't keep us locked up in here!" Lenny called out as he pulled his bag around to the front. He rummaged through it before he froze in his spot.

"Of course I can, and I will. Now you're thinking, 'what crazy person would possibly do this,' right? Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great way to understand exactly why people react the way they do, but you're all here for a reason—which brings me to the next point. There is one way you may leave, and that…" the voice paused before chuckling. "Whoops, almost gave away too much already. You're going to have to come to orientation to find out what you gotta do. Until then, have a great time, suckers!" The speakers crackled as they came to a dead silence.

No one made a sound. They only looked at each other as thoughts raced through their minds. There was only one way to find out who was behind this and why they chose the students they did. Richard stepped over to the door and exited the room, before he came back in and announced the metal cage blocking the red building had disappeared. One by one, they all exited the cafeteria on their way to the opening ceremony. Two people stuck behind—Edward and Taylor, who shared a look between each other—before they both walked behind the rest of the students.


	3. Announcement (Prologue End)

As the students gathered in the foyer of the Academic Center, it was evident that the person on the speakers weren't lying. The front door now had two metal cages drawn down in front of it. Richard went over to it and grabbed the bottom. He planted his feet and pulled up, but there wasn't any effect. It was almost like it was built right into the ground. The lineman growled as Aiden and Cath walked over to him.

"It won't even budge an inch, will it?" Cath asked as he crossed his arms.

Richard laughed slightly as he moved out of the way. "Why don't you give it a try?" He asked, before the boxer moved over to the cage and grabbed the bottom. As he tried with the most energy he could, he pulled to no avail. "If I couldn't move it, why do you think you could?"

"I don't know," the boxer sighed as he turned back to face the other two. "I thought since you loosened it, I could give it that extra strength it needed."

"What, are you a pill of Advil?" Aiden asked as he gently smacked the shoulder of the boxer. Richard laughed once he figured out the reference. "Good thing someone understands my references."

"Oh, haha," Cath sarcastically said as he rolled his eyes. He gently pushed Aiden with his shoulder; only to receive a push from the firefighter's two hands. "What the hell was that for?"

"For not paying attention, idiot," he replied as he laughed. "But since I have your attention now, I want to talk to you about something."

Richard nodded to himself and walked away to leave the other students alone together. Aiden put his hand on the boxer's shoulder before he pulled him down into a small two-person huddle. "What the hell do you want to talk about?"

"Do you trust that Richard guy?" He asked without any sort of emotion. "He is like this giant oaf, but he seems to be loved by almost everyone. Something must be up with him, right?"

"I don't know, and I really don't care, either," the boxer started to stand straight up, but the firefighter pulled him back into the huddle.

"Alright, but just be careful around him, ok?"

Cath nodded as he pulled up from the huddle. He really didn't care if there was anything wrong with the lineman. If he truly had any issues, he would be able to stop anything he'd try to do. As he walked, he imagined the different moves he could use on the lineman, or anyone that tried to pull any cheap tricks on the group.

Unfortunately for Cath, he didn't notice the body that stood in his way. Within a split second, him and another person both hit the ground—and he knew it was a girl from the small squeak that came out of her mouth. He placed his left hand on the ground and the right on the back of his head.

"Sorry there, uhm…" he paused as he looked at the girl he had knocked over. No other words came out of his mouth as he stared at the girl. He immediately noticed the brown hair of the girl pulled back into a ponytail. It took a few moments before he realized he had landed above the girl. Moving off of her, he apologized more—only to be cut off by the girl's hand.

She held up her hand to motion him to keep silent. She rubbed the back of her head and winced. "Ow… What did you hit me with, a lead brick?" She asked as she looked directly at him. He looked back into her ocean blue eyes and simply shook his head. He couldn't find the words to say to her. "Geez, it still hurts…"

"S-sorry…" He managed to finally say before he looked down in shame. He heard the noise of footsteps approaching the two students and looked back up. He felt relieved when he saw they belonged to Edward.

"What are you two doing on the floor?" He asked as he held out his arms to the boy. The boxer grabbed them and pulled himself up before turning to the girl.

He thought it would be a wonderful idea to pick her up to help her stand—he put his arm under her knees and wrapped the other around the girl's upper body. She let out another squeak, only to feel the floor under her feet.

"You still haven't answered my question," Edward said as he crossed his arms. The boxer turned back to him and began to recount what happened. The girl next to him listened carefully before she sighed along with the writer.

"Be careful next time," they both said as the same time. Together, they looked at each other and raised an eyebrow. Edward raised his left hand, and the girl her right. As soon as they placed their hands down, they laughed.

Cath stood there and tilted his head to the side. "What the hell is so funny?" He asked as he crossed his arms.

"Nothing, nothing… Oh, I remember what I came here for. We already started to head to the ceremony when Richard noticed that two students were not with us," he started to speak as he turned back to the bridge in the corner of the room. "So they told me to come back and get you so that we couldn't have to worry about people getting lost, especially since the next building is too much like a maze."

Cath looked around the bridge and noticed the large sign above it. It read "Gymnasium," to which the boxer rolled his eyes. As if anyone wouldn't know where the only open bridge would lead. The three walked through the double doors and down to the other side. Almost immediately, Cath noticed even these windows have barriers over them. The person in charge certainly didn't kid.

Much to the boxer's surprise, on the other side of the double doors, classrooms lined the two sides of the building. Further down, he could see the rest of the group waiting in front of a set of stairs. "It's just a little more," Edward said as he smiled back at the two, only to walk up ahead to the others. Lauraine looked over at Cath, who had his eyes on the different classrooms they passed. It seemed like all the core classes were present.

"As you may see," Orson said as the two reached him, "classrooms are laid out in a rather clustered matter, but I believe that's because they worry less on the actual lectures and focus more on hands on experience." He bit down on his thumb as he turned to the side and looked down deep in thought.

"And why are you telling us?" Taylor asked as she crossed her arms. She glared at the stage director, before she turned to the stairwell and started her ascend without another word.

As soon as she was out of the stairwell, Aiden laughed and pointed at the stairs. "And this is why you don't skip your daily dose of happiness," he said as he winked.

"Yes, well…" Orson started before he turned to the steps as well. "I do believe everyone is curious to hear exactly how we get out of this predicament, no?" He took the first two steps before he turned back to the group. "Oh, and from what I've seen of that Taylor girl… don't do anything to piss her off. That's just an obvious, but needed, piece of advice."

He turned back around and took each step as he walked up to the top of the first set of steps. He turned the corner and continued up the second set of steps. The rest of the students followed him to the very top, but stopped in amazement of the size and quality of the gymnasium.

From the spot of the steps to other end of the room, there were easily four sets of basketball courts positioned left to right and put right next to each other. Along the wall, bleachers lined up neatly, awaiting people to use them. At the other end of the gymnasium, there alone stood a seamstress who had her arms crossed and eyes on the podium near the wall. The other fifteen students walked over to her, but no one said a word.

Seconds turned into a full minute before Taylor growled to herself. "When the hell is this ceremony going to take part?!" She asked aloud as she turned to the clock on the wall. It read five after eight. "Come on out, you chicken!"

"Actually, I'm more of a bear, thank you," the same voice spoke out from behind the podium. Almost as if timed, a little plush bear popped up. Multiple questions arose from the students, mostly concerning why the plush bear was split up—half black and half white. "Welcome to Linback University, where you're going to be spending the rest of your lives! My name is Monokuma, but you lot can just call me Kuma, and I'm the headmaster of this university!" He said as he raised his paw to his chest.

"This is some kind of joke, isn't it?" A student near the back called out, which resulted in some small talk between the different groups. The one that called out pushed his way to the front. "There's no way some stuffed toy could be our headmaster!"

"And there's no way a cockatiel can speak, so shut up there, laddie," the bear returned the comment in a mock-Irish accent. Most of the students laughed at the boxer as he fell back into line with the rest of his classmates. "Now listen here, and listen good, you were chosen for a reason. That reason—"

"Uhm, excuse me, Mr. Kuma," Babs spoke out as she raised her hand. "I got a question…Why are you a stuffed animal?"

"Look, kid, I don't know much about you, but I'm not trying to find out either, so keep your nose in your own coffee, you dig?" The bear asked as he pointed one paw at the girl. "Now, as I was saying… The reason you're all here. I personally chose you guys to be a vessel for the despair I want the world to harbor."

"Why would we be these vessels, especially for someone like you?" Taylor asked in the most sarcastic tone she could.

"If you don't… I'll kill each and every one of ya! And I don't think you want that, now do ya?" The bear returned the question, but received no answer. "I'll take that silence as a no…"

"Oh, Mr. Kuma!" Babs raised her hand again—this time, she got closer to where the bear had been positioned. "You said we could get out of here, right? How could we get out of here?"

"Oh, look, we got ourselves a genius!" He remarked before he jumped down onto the gymnasium floor. "It's a good thing you asked, Barbara Wilmot… Very good indeed. You see, there's only one way you can get out of here alive, and I don't think you kiddies are ready for this just yet… Welp, too bad! In order to leave, you must take the life of another student!" He grabbed onto his stomach and laughed hard.

Every reaction had been the same—A gasp, followed by a look around at each other, only to be ended with a stare back at the bear. "Don't give me such stupid looks. I know you guys have what it takes to kill another one of your classmates. You can stab, poison, bludgeon, drown, strangle, or however your little hearts feel is needed the most."

"What the hell are you talking about? Kill each other? Who the hell would do something so stupid?!" Aiden called out as he shifted in his spot. Despite the words that came out of his mouth, his tone had a hint of fear behind it. That fear resided in everyone who heard the only way to escape this university.

"I know for sure one of you will, and I'll be waiting for when it happens!" The bear laughed again before he put his paws up to his mouth. "Whoops, I almost forgot the most important part of this whole ceremony. Here, take one of these… you're going to need it!" The bear ran back to the podium and went behind. It took a few seconds before he came back, pushing a box to the front of the students.

Richard, who was positioned at the front, reached down and grabbed the box. "Are those… tablets?" He asked the bear before everyone gathered around him.

"They're not tablets! They're your Student IDs, and you're going to need them—for they are the key to everything!" He said as he waved his paw in the air. "And, when there is a murder, you're going to thank the lord I gave you these."

After everyone grabbed the Student ID that had a sticky note with their name on it, Richard placed the box back in front of the bear. Taylor pressed the power button and was greeted by a bright flash on the screen. She scanned the words and raised an eyebrow at the seemingly full set of information on her.

* * *

 **| _Info_ | Map | Students | Rules | Truth Bullets |**

 **Taylor Elusory – Ultimate Seamstress**  
 **Date of Birth: June 8th**  
 **Place of Birth: Frederick, Maryland**  
 **Height: 5 foot 3 inches**  
 **Weight: 146 pounds**

* * *

She looked up at the rest of the students and noticed they all had the same look on their faces. The one that read, "how exactly do they have all of this information?"

"Fufufufufu, looks like you all were able to log into them," the bear said as it hopped back onto the podium. "Make sure you read the rules carefully, because there's a few in there that you're going to need to remember…" Before anyone would ask him what he meant, he jumped down behind the podium. Silence took over the students as they each looked at the other.

"Do… Do you think he was serious?" One of the girls asked the guy next to him. "Are we really forced to live here, or kill someone to escape?"

"Of course, he isn't!" The boy exclaimed as he rose up his fists. "I promise to protect you, no matter the circumstance!"

"Pfft, you're rather quick to make such a promise," Taylor remarked as she turned back to face the boxer and the coach. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes before she sighed. "You have just met the girl and you're already promising to protect her against everything that could possibly hurt her?"

"Why wouldn't I? I promise to protect everyone, no matter the circumstance!" The boxer repeated as he banged his hand against his chest. "bear or not, there will be no murder on my watch!"

"And how do you plan on achieving that task?" The seamstress asked as she raised an eyebrow at the lad. Her lips sneered up into a sly grin as she watched his enthusiasm drain from his body.

"Ooh! I have an idea!" Another girl called out as she pushed her way over to the forming circle. "How about we set a curfew so we can't leave our rooms at all during the night time?"

"When exactly is this night time, if I may ask?" Taylor questioned as she moved over to the scuba diver. The latter rolled her eyes and shoved the tablet into the seamstress's face. She pointed to the list of rules before she pulled back and started to read them a loud. Taylor toned her out and read at her own pace and with her own voice.

* * *

 **| Info | Map | Students | _Rules_ | Truth Bullets |**

 **Linback University Rules and Regulations**

 **1\. Students may reside only within the school.  
Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.**

 **2\. "Night time" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off  
limits at night, so please exercise caution.**

 **3\. Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen  
as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.**

 **4\. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore  
Linback University at your discretion.**

 **5\. Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited,  
as is destruction of surveillance cameras.**

 **6\. Violation of any of these regulations  
will result in immediate execution.**

 **7\. Forcefully entering a room that is locked by  
Headmaster Monokuma is prohibited.**

 **8\. Additional school regulations  
may be added as necessary**

* * *

"See? The beginning of the night shift is at ten at night. If we make it so people aren't allowed out of their rooms without another person to see for their safety, then there will not be any murder!" She exclaimed as she gripped onto the tablet.

"I kinda like her idea," Richard said as he moved over to the side of Sydne. He, much like the rest of the group, crossed his arms and glared down at the seamstress. However, the latter didn't flinch.

"If you guys are so hell-bent on doing this, then I have no reason to stop you," the girl finally said before she turned to face the exit. "I would like to ask… where are these rooms?"

"Top floor," Law quickly interjected as he, too, lifted the tablet into the girl's view. "There's a map that shows the layout of the entire school. Right now, we're in the Blue building and the dorms are in Orange building along with the main and guidance offices."

"Then we head to the Orange building!" Sydne exclaimed as she turned on her heels and started to march towards the exit. One by one, everyone started to follow until Edward and Taylor remained.

She looked over at the writer before she sighed and said, "they just don't get it, do they? I bet that one of them will be dead by the end of this week."

"Oh really now?" He asked as he smirked at the girl. "I bet you a night of whatever you want to do that no one will die at all."

"Quite the cocky one. Fine, I'll play along with your silly game," she said as she held out her hand. "I bet you… a kiss, that someone will murder another by the end of the week."

"You're going to regret that one," he remarked as he shook her hand. "So, you're a seamstress, right?"

"I do believe we have established that," she said sarcastically. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason, I was just wondering if you knew a little bit about clothing, that's a—" before Edward could finish his sentence, she moved closer to him with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I know a whole lot about clothing! If you ever wanna talk about stuff like that, I'm willing to take time out of my day to entertain a simpleminded boy like you," she said before she quickly flicked his nose. "What do you say we walk and talk? I'm looking forward to seeing our dorms."

Edward nodded before he turned besides the girl. Together, they walked down the gymnasium towards the steps to the first floor.

* * *

 **PROLOGUE:  
~END~**

 **REMAINING STUDENTS: 16**


	4. First Day (Daily Life 1-1)

**ARC 1: Slaughter of the Sheep  
**

 **REMAINING STUDENTS: 16**

* * *

 ** _Click_**

"Good morning, you spoiled brats! It is now seven in the morning and is officially Daytime. Get out of bed and go meet some friends!" The voice, that the bear had, said from the television in the corner of the room.

 ** _Click_**

The screen turned off as quickly as it had turned on. Edward groaned slightly as he opened his eyes. It was unlike him to not be able to get up in the morning—he had always been the one to wake the rest of his family up, but somehow, it became entirely different here.

Not only did he now have a hard time waking up, he also felt like he had added an easy fifty pounds to his entire body. He looked around at the surrounds before he sat up. Almost immediately, he felt lighter and less groggy—but he quickly realized why he gained weight overnight.

He stared down at the girl that resided in the same bed as him. He quickly jumped up from beside her and looked around. This definitely was his dorm room, but why had she slept in the same bed-that's when he remembered.

 **XXX**

 _"Edward, shut up already," the seamstress said as she gently pushed the writer to the side. "Cadmium Yellow Light is not the same as Pale. They're two entirely different pigments."_

 _"They look the same to me, and that's all that matters," he said as he chuckled._

 _"Look, I don't care if you think that those two are the same," she groaned as she stood up from the table she sat at. "The truth is that they are two completely different colors!"_

 _Edward rolled his eyes as he leaned back. He couldn't remember what exactly got them onto the issue of the Cadmium shades of colors, but now they were arguing about it. They started in the gymnasium and slowly made their way over into the made building. Instead of standing around the foyer, Taylor pulled him into the cafeteria and sat him down at the table they were currently at._

 _"Where are you going?" He asked as he too stood up. "Don't you want to try to make me see it your way, Miss Domineering?"_

 _"Who the hell do you think you are calling domineering? You're the one that had just argued with me for the past… half an hour about two god damn colors," she replied before she turned to the doorway. "…Are you going to come walk me to my room or not?"_

 _"Why the hell would I do that?" He asked with a confused tone. "Don't you just have to walk up a flight of steps and get to your room?"_

 _"Did you already forget the rule we implemented ourselves?" She turned around and placed her hands on her hips. "No one must be out of their dorms during night time by themselves. If I, the one that agreed to put it into action, don't follow it, then no one will."_

 _"You do have a point…"_

 _"Of course I do, now let's go before it's officially past our curfew," she remarked as she motioned with her head towards the door. Edward stood up and followed her out of the cafeteria._

 _Slowly, the two students climbed the stairs that lead to the dorms—which, to Edward's surprise, were spread out evenly on the second floor. He imagined they would be clumped together in one small area that left the rooms with barely any space to sufficiently hold a student of any caliber. However, he could look to the left, or to the right, and still see a room for any student._

 _"Attention, everyone! It is now ten o'clock, which means 'Night Time' has officially been put into place. Please head for your dorms immediately for a nice long sleep, or face the consequences of sleeping elsewhere!" The high pitched voice squeaked as it played over the loud speakers._

 _The two looked at each other before they turned towards the left side. Scanning each room, they managed to find their respective room—that sat across from each other—and held their Student IDs up against the mechanical lock on the door. Edward's beeped twice and flashed green while Taylor's didn't react. "The hell…?" She asked aloud._

 _"What's wrong?" He asked as he turned around. She demonstrated that her lock wouldn't open—only to walk up behind him. "Where are you going?"_

 _"I hate to do this, but I'm going to have to sleep with you until I can get that bear to check out my door," she said as she crossed her arms. "Look, I don't like the idea much myself, but… I need your help right now."_

 _Edward stared at her for a few moments before he sighed and moved to the side. "Fine, you can stay with me for the night. Just don't get any ideas, alright?"_

 _"I could say the same to you, Edward," she scuffed before she walked into his room. "You're sleeping on the floor, got it?"_

 _"Hell no. This isn't your room, so you get the floor," he retorted before he closed the door._

 **XXX**

Edward sighed softly to himself as he looked over at the desk at the side of the room. Nothing seemed to be in any sort of array, as everything was in the same spot since last night. At least they both still had the clothes they wore from yesterday—he thought, at least. He looked down and sighed happily when he saw his blue polo shirt and tan shorts.

He jumped at the knock at the door. "Who is it?" He called out, slowly walking over. Looking through the peephole, he smiled when he saw the face of the lineman. "Oh, it's just you…"

"Who did you think it would be? Ohh, wait… You were hoping it was Taylor, weren't you? I see how it is," he laughed before he smiled. "Can you open the door? I don't like looking at the metal coating of the thing…"

"Sure, just a second…" the writer softly said as he unlocked the door and opened it as wide as he could make it go. With a "thanks," the lineman walked in, but stopped short when he saw the third member of the party.

"Uhm, Edward, why is Taylor in your bed?" He asked as he looked over at the writer. The latter quickly raised his hands in defense.

"It's not what it looks like! We were talking in the cafeteria last night and, as we were coming back up to the rooms, the Night Time announcement came on. She decided to just bunk in my room for the time being, that's all!" Edward shouted as he backed up to the bed. He turned towards Taylor and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Come on… wake up…"

With a groan, the seamstress opened her eyes and looked up at the writer. "Oh, good morning… Wait, why are you touching me?" Quickly, he let her shoulders go and looked away. She looked over at the lineman at the door. "Edward, why do you have another person here…?"

"Because he… that is a good question. Frankenstein, why are you here?" He asked as he turned back to the boy at the door. "You never told me when you were at the door, but I just assumed you were here to see me." He chuckled before wincing from the elbow delivered by the girl on the bed.

"You never asked me why, but since you now did. Lawrence decided to have a meeting today, so that we can do something along the lines of splitting up… I think that's what he said as least. To tell you the truth, I wasn't paying all that much attention to him," the lineman chuckled before he turned to the side. "I'll leave you two to get dressed. We will be waiting in the cafeteria whenever you're ready." He walked out the room, closing the door behind him.

"Good going, dipshit. Now he's probably going to tell everyone we slept together," the seamstress said with a huff. "This is just great! Now I'm going to be seen as the girl that goes after the guys with disheveled hair…" she quickly got off the bed and stormed out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind her.

Edward sighed as he stood alone in his room. Slowly, he walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out his green striped polo and tan shorts. Simple, but still more tidy than half of the other students. He quickly got changed, throwing the dirty clothes into the hamper set up in the corner of the room. He walked out of the room and closed the door carefully in fear of the damages done by the slam before.

Once he arrived at the cafeteria, he realized the tables were moved closer to each other. Four were put up next to each other to create one long chain of circled tables. Everyone sat next to each other as if they were classmates since the beginning of their lives. He sighed happily when he saw the seat next the Richard was still open. He walked over and sat down.

"It seems like we're just missing Taylor… and once she joins us, we can begin," Law said as he stood at the "head" of the table. As soon as he sat down, the seamstress walked in, taking the last seat across from Edward. She turned her head in disgust and stared at the sheriff. "Thanks for joining, Taylor. Alright, as everyone can see, they weren't joking about the whole locked in thing. I talked to a bunch of you and those that were asked agreed we should investigate the area to see what we are given to work and live with."

Cath stood up and walked over to the side of Law. "We already decided we were going to split up into four teams. That should give us enough coverage on all of the floors. Lawrence, Aiden, Richard and I are going to be leading the groups, so when we call your name, stand up and join your respective leader."

"Thank you, Cath-hole," he smiled at the boxer before he walked over to the side. "Aiden, Richard, if you please, stand up and walk to the corners of the table." Both looked at each other before they stood up and went to each corner. "Good. Now… Edward, Babs, Taylor, please go with Richard. You guys should know each other well enough to be able to get this investigation a thorough sweep."

It didn't take Babs another second before she grabbed onto Richard's arm with glee. Edward, on the other hand, stood up and slowly walked over to the lineman, but Taylor remained seated. "I am not going to go anywhere with that pig," she said as she glared over at the writer. She looked back over at the sheriff, only to see the lineman in front of her. He gently turned the chair to the side, plopping the girl up onto his shoulder.

"Thank you, Richard," Law smiled before he looked over at Aiden. "Right… Leonard, Misty, and Lauraine, please take a stand next to Aiden. As for my party, I will take Orson, Mabel, and Maria."

"And that leaves Carver, Sydne, and Victoria with me!" Cath replied with a laugh. "Just follow your leaders, and they'll guide you to the floor you'll be investigating."

 **XXX**

"Tell me again, why did we get stuck with the bedrooms?" Taylor groaned as she walked along the halls with the writer. He shrugged and looked to the side, sighing softly. "Look, I'm sorry for calling you a pig. I was still angry about this morning, ok?"

"It's not just that. I can't help but feel like you're distancing yourself from me," he said as he looked down the hall at the girl that stood about five feet away from him. She sighed and walked over to him.

"There, are you happy now?" She asked as she crossed her arms. "Come on, I don't like the idea of looking through other people's belongings…"

He nodded before he turned to the doors next to him. "Wait, did you forget that job went to the other two? We're supposed to investigate the other rooms on the floor… Like, the public laundry room right here."

"Sh-shut up. I wanted to make it seem like I was doing more than just some low job like that," she grumbled before she turned away from him. "Just hurry up and look around inside so we can get away from here."

"Agreed," he said before he walked in. He immediately noticed the washers and dryers near the back wall of the room. Four washers stood neatly arranged in a row while four dryers were stacked on top of the washers with the openings set on the front of them. "At least we don't have to go without washing our clothes," he joked before he turned back to the seamstress. "There's hardly anything in here, so we can leave if you want…" His voice trailed when he saw her slide past him. She walked over to the one piece swimming suit already hung up on the line.

"Why are there clothes hanging already?" She asked aloud before she reached up. She gently ran her fingers over the material of the swimming suit. "Wait, isn't this the one piece Sydne wore under that overly baggy outfit?" She turned back to allow Edward to see, but he had his back to her.

"I guess, I don't know. Do you think I would notice if she was wearing anything underneath? I-I mean," he quickly turned around and held up his hands. "Not like I look in the first place. Which I don't, so don't think of anything later on, alright?" He sighed as he looked down.

She laughed before quietly walking over to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "You don't have to explain anything to me. I don't either, it's just she wore this overly baggy tank top that looked like she wanted people to see what she had on underneath. I actually give you props for not looking at all."

"Thanks…" He smiled as he looked at her, only to turn around and walk to the door. "Ready to go report what we found?"

"Definitely," she nodded before she walked out behind her. Together, they walked back to the meeting point for their group, where Richard had a waitress looped around his arm. "Looks like they found nothing…" She whispered over to Edward, who chuckled in response.

"Unfortunately, this girl here didn't allow me much room to look around, so we practically sat on the bed cuddling," Richard laughed as he rubbed his neck. "What about you two? Did you find anything important?"

"I would think so. Unfortunately, we have to do our own wash, so prepare for a lot of smelly people," Taylor joked, but received crickets in response. "Oh come on, that was funny…"

"Anyway, as she was supposed to say… We found the laundry room on the end of the hallway, where we have the equipment to do our own wash. On the other end of the hallway, we have the incinerator, but the door's locked, so we decided to skip right over it," Edward said as he pointed to each room.

"Guess that covers this area," Richard said with a sigh, "I wonder how the other groups are doing…"


	5. School Search (Daily Life 1-2)

"If you ask me, I think it is pretty stupid to investigate the cafeteria," Mabel said as she crossed her arms. As soon as the rest of the groups had left, she sat down in the chair she originally held during the meeting.

"Yeah, well, no one asked you. Now get off you high horse and help us look around. We're trying to find any way out of here, or something we can use to get out—"

"Or make our stay even better. Because let's face it, this is the perfect setting for a tale of love, suspense and betrayal," Orson quickly interrupted Law. The latter growled a bit before he sighed.

"Yes, we can look for something to make our stay better. However, I will not tolerate the awful attitude that cow is exhibiting," Law said as he pointed to the cowgirl. She quickly stood up and, after slipping off her boot, threw it at his chest. It bounced off and landed with a thud, but the sheriff didn't seem fazed by it.

"I won't tolerate the attitude of an asshole!" She growled before she stomped out of the cafeteria, boot still lying on the floor in front of Law. He sighed and picked it up before he placed it on the table.

"Hey, Lawrence… not to sound like a jerk, but you are acting like an asshole," Orson remarked as he put his hand on the sheriff's shoulder. "Can you find it in your heart to be nice to everyone around here? You never know who you're going to piss off…"

Law looked back at the boot before he sighed again. "I guess I should apologize… especially if we're not going to get out of here for a while…" Grabbing the boot, he walked out the doors he saw Mabel stomp out of. He looked around and spotted her by the large poles holding the top floor up. Slowly, he walked over and held out the piece of leather.

The girl looked at the boot in his hand, then up at his face. "What are you giving me that for? Aren't you going to throw it at me like the insults you use?" She quickly crossed her arms and frowned.

He shook his head and placed the boot on the floor. "I came out to apologize for being an asshole. We're going to have a rough few days if we're going to be acting like enemies."

She stared at him for a little while before she grinned. "Alright, then I want you to put it back on my foot," she said as she lifted her leg up a bit off the ground.

He quickly rolled his eyes before he got onto one knee. "Fine, but this is the only time I am doing anything like this. Hear me?" He picked up the boot again as he gently grabbed onto her ankle. After slipping on her footwear, he stood up and turned around. "There."

"Thank you, Law," she cooed before she wrapped her arms around her back. "You know, you're not as bad as you first appear. Maybe I can see the true person inside you…"

"Good luck doing that," he sarcastically said, pulling out of her grip. He took two steps forward before he turned back to her. "Are you coming, or do you want me to carry you back too—that wasn't a suggestion, understand?" He bent his elbow up and pointed at her. She giggled before she nodded, moving up to the side of him. Together, they walked back into the cafeteria.

Orson looked over at the door when he heard the creak. He smiled softly when he saw the two had made up, even if it wasn't an entire recovery. Turning back to the nun, he nodded. "Yeah, I also think it's pretty weird that there are only sixteen of us. You would think that there are a lot more students attending this school."

"My thoughts exactly. However, I believe that the lord has something in plan for all of us. He may be testing our ability to work with others, and whether or not we do anything sinful," she added before she smiled. "I have faith in this group to not do anything of that sort."

"Then you must really care for everyone, don't you. I give them a week before there is a major fight…" he sighed before he looked back to the kitchen. "And with the weapons possibly hiding in that area there, murder is something that can easily be done."

Maria gently placed her hands on his cheeks and brought his view back to her. "I can guarantee that no one will be murdered under my watched. I swear by the name of the father I will do my best to deter people from doing anything that will damn their souls!" She smiled wide as she held up her fist in optimism.

"Calm down little miss energy," he laughed before he smiled in return. "I know you love to make sure everyone is doing the right thing, but you're going to have a hard time with that dude over there. Five bucks says he's going to get a few people mad."

The nun shook her head before she smiled. "Alright, I'll take that bet. You're going to lose, though."

"We'll see about that.." the stage director remarked before the two walked over. "So what happens now? Do we just wait here until the rest come back?"

"That is exactly what we do. We unfortunately can't go outside of our area, due to the restrictions we put on each group. For security reasons, of course," Law said with a smile.

Orson sighed as he put his hand horizontally and wave it vertically. "Yeah, yeah. I know the hard on you get for thinking about security."

"Hard on…? May I ask what that is?" The nun squeezed her question in before the sheriff could respond. "Is that something good?"

"Unfortunately, it is not something an innocent girl like you should be hearing about…" Orson responded with an awkward sigh. "Now, how about I let you all in on a little thing I found last night…"

 **XXX**

"So, you're a painter? That's pretty cool. I don't think I have ever met a fully talented painter before," Leo said to the girl standing next to him.

"Yeah…" she responded hesitantly. Her focus was on the mural in front of her. She worried more about the strokes of her brush than the annoying voice of the student next to her. She moved up closer to the mural and stared at the chin of her painting. Something wasn't right with it—maybe it was the outline of the entire face.

"So, what kind of paintings do you usually enjoy the most? I personally like the art works by Van Gogh, mostly because of the rumors of his soul still living in those paintings—"

"Can you please shut up?!" She growled as she spun around on her stool. "I'm trying to do something here, and you're bothering me like a little gnat, buzzing in my ear all the time. How about you buzz off to one of the other students on this floor?" She pointed the paintbrush as him before she turned back to her mural. Without any hesitation, her brush quickly stroked the canvas.

Like a dog that had just been hit on the snout, Leo scampered out of the art room and down to the nearest classroom. He opened the door and slid under the teacher's desk. "Mo-monster…!" He yelled to himself, shivering from the experience.

"Who is the monster?" A voice asked from above the desk. Leo slowly moved out and looked up, only to scream from the sight of the demon. "Calm down there, little buddy," the demon removed his mask and smiled. "It's only your friendly neighborhood Blayze."

"D-damn you… I nearly had a heart attack!" He sighed as he moved out from under the desk. Standing up, he dusted himself off. "Where the hell did you find that thing anyway?"

"Cool, ain't it? I found it in the closet with a whole bunch of other decorations from Japan. You should see some of the things in there. I bet there's even a mask for you too," he winked before he walked back over to the closet.

He was stopped halfway by the slamming of the door. Lauraine, panting due to the sprint, looked inside. "Is everyone alright in here? I heard the scream and came running." She stared at the boy with the mask and the boy by the desk. "Uhm…"

"Yeah, everyone is alright in here. I just scared old Leo there with a cheap mask from Japan. That's all," he smiled before he placed the mask back into the box. "What do you think? Scary, right?" He asked as he pulled out another mask, slipping it on before he looked over at her. She laughed nervously before nodding. "Alright, I understand. I'll put it away. Don't worry…" He sighed to himself before he stared down at the box.

"Oh Laura, before I forget, I have a question," Leo quickly interjected as he turned to her. "Why is Missy acting like nothing is as important as her paintings?"

"That's because she is so good at them, she finds peace in painting. That's all—it's almost like you going out for an investigation of the unknown," she remarked as she smiled.

"Oh, I see," he nodded to himself, turning back to the desk. "That reminds me, I need to investigate this school so we aren't attacked at the middle of the night by the evil spirits haunting this land!"

"I don't think…" Lauraine was about to tell him her thoughts when Aiden walked over and gently put his hand on her shoulder. She stared up at him before she sighed and smiled. "Yeah, we're counting on you, Leo."

"Since we're all buddy-buddy now, how about we get back to the cafeteria to tell the others about the amazing masks I found?" Aiden suggested, not waiting for an answer from the others. He walked over to the door and started to make his way back to the cafeteria. The other two quickly followed him in his tracks, after rushing back for the painter.

 **XXX**

It didn't take long before the gymnasium's hard wood floor opened up and exposed the swimming pool underneath. Synde, now only in the bikini she had under her high school uniform, jumped in immediately. The other three stood around the bleachers, talking amongst themselves.

"Why exactly do we have to go out and investigate the areas we have already been to?" The radio announcer asked as she leaned back against the seat behind her.

"I already answered you, but just so you can't say anything…" Cath sighed before he continued. "We're looking for something that can help us get out. Secret passage or just another exit, it doesn't matter."

"But why do we have to go here? I would rather be investigating the bedrooms or something…" She puffed her cheeks before she turned away.

"Yeah, so you can be sleeping," Jeff interjected before he laughed. He raised his hand up to Carver, receiving a high five from his operator.

"As if you even know what that is!" Victoria cried out as she leaned up into the puppet's face. "You're a literal block head."

Carver quickly pulled his partner backwards as Jeff snickered, "Say it, don't spray it, buddy," he said as he wiped his wooden face

"That's it!" She roared, quickly grabbing the puppet out of Carver's hands. Holding him around his neck, she laughed and quickly jumped off the bleachers. "If you want it, come get it!" She laughed harder, making her way to the other side of the pool.

"Unhand me, woman!" Carver said in Jeff's voice. The ventriloquist carefully walked down the steps of the bleachers and jogged after the girl. "Seriously, if I have any marks left on me, you're hearing from my lawyer!"

Cath remained on the bleachers with his head in his hands. Suddenly, he felt a chill shiver down his spine from cold water running after it. He looked over at the scuba diver smiling next to him. "You looked kinda lonely.. Do you mind me joining you here?"

"Not at all, I was actually going to come down and see how the water felt. Thanks for letting me know it's cold," he smiled before he sighed. His eyes scanned the room until he saw the two arguing over in the corner. "Don't they look like brother and sister?"

"They look more like a newly formed couple, still testing the waters," she giggled at her own pun. "But for reals, they totes look like brother and sister. I'd say dummy is the older brother, getting picked on by his younger sister."

"That's how I see it too. Say… we never really got to truly introduce ourselves, did we?" He asked as he looked at her. Receiving a shake of her head, he continued. "Well, my name is Cathaoir McNeil, but you can just call me Cath, and you are?"

"The name's Synde Reid. Nice to meet you Cathy-poo," she winked before she giggled. "Come on; let's go into the pool for a swim!" Grabbing his hand, she slowly pulled him down the bleachers. He hardly resisted her pull, but he quickly pulled his hand from hers when they reached the side of the pool.

Without a skip of a beat, he pulled his tank top off and placed it on the bottom row of seats on the bleacher. He turned back to her and smiled. "You getting in first or am I?"

"Oh, uhm, yeah," she fumbled over her words as her cheeks grew a small tint of red. She quickly jumped back into the pool and hid her face partly under the water. He slipped into the pool, but quickly swam to the other end of the pool. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm swimming. What does it look like I'm doing?" He laughed a little bit before he laid flat on the surface, front side down. He extended his arm out in front of him and pulled his body forward in the water, repeating the process with the other arm; his legs behind him kicked him forward as well.

Sydne sighed before she followed him, but she paddled a little faster than the boxer. She reached the other end of the pool at the same as he did. "All I'm going to say is you need to get faster," she said as she winked at him.

He sighed before he hopped onto the ledge. "Looks like you win this time. I didn't know we were racing, though. If I did, I wouldn't have gone easy like I did… Oh, crap. We were supposed to be back to the meeting fifteen minutes ago." He groaned as he hopped up onto his feet. She held out her hands to him. After grabbing them, he slowly pulled her up onto the ledge next to him.

 **XXX**

"Good, looks like the rest of us decided to join us," Law remarked sarcastically when he noticed the gymnasium group enter the cafeteria. "Now we can wrap up this investigation session and go on with our day. I think we should start, then Richard's group, Aiden's and finally Cath's; go in the order of arrival."

Cath growled slightly. "That's a—

Perfect idea!" Orson agreed before he turned to the others seated around the tables. "We have nothing to report that everyone else doesn't already know… But I would just advise everyone to double check their nightstands when they go back to their rooms."

"Oh, do you mean that coin in the top drawer? Richard and I found it when we were looking around my room," Babs called out with a giggle. "It had that weird bear's face on one side, and then the name of the school on the other. Weird, isn't it?"

"It is, but I think I know where it goes…" Aiden said under his breath. "Did you guys find anything on the upper floor?" He turned to Edward and Richard with a raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, sir. We have good news," Edward started as he stood up. "There are washers and dryers in the room on the far end of the hallway upstairs, so we will fortunately be able to do our wash. On the other end, there's a locked incinerator room… Other than those two rooms, we didn't find anything due to restrictions of the bedrooms," he finished, sitting back down.

"Awesome! That means we don't have to worry about smelly people walking around us!" Taylor exclaimed like before, only to receive more crickets. "Really, people?"

"Good, now with our group. We found the classrooms to be normal everyday rooms you'd find in any high school. However, the first room on the left when you first enter the building is quite different than the others. Instead of it being a classroom, it seems to be some sort of student store. There was this machine that allowed you to buy _gifts_ , as the machine put it… I think that those coins you found fit there."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it did. This whole school is filled with mystery. Every single place here has something about it…" Maria said as she clasped her hands together in prayer. "Something sinister…"

"You're just imagining it," Orson said as he gently rubbed her shoulder. "There's nothing sinister about this place if we stick together and make sure we have each other's backs."

"You're right," Cath smiled before he looked over at Aiden. "Finished reporting your group's findings?" After receiving a nod, he continued. "So there's nothing special about the gymnasium. There are two sides: one for basketball and one for volleyball. The basketball side opens up to become a pool, and along the back wall, there are two changing rooms, gender separated. Other than that, it's just another gymnasium."

"Good, good. That seems to be everything, yes? If anyone has anything else to add, speak now. If not, then I say we conclude this meeting…" Law looked around for anything else to be said. When nothing came up, he smiled and held up his hand. "Students, dismissed."


	6. Free Time Events I (Daily Life 1-3)

"Now, what do we do from here?" Maria asked the stage director next to him. She had her hands in a prayer again, but her eyes rested on the boy in front of her. "I mean, everyone else seems to have walked out and are doing they own things…"

"I can see that. Why don't we go and talk about things? You know, get to know each other so that we don't have that awkward aura lingering over us?" He smiled as he placed his hands into his pockets. "We don't have to, if you don't want to."

"No, no. I would love to hang out with you. We all need to be friends with one another, so there are no arguments that will lead to violence," she frowned when she noticed he stared at her. "Did I say something wrong…?"

"Of course not, I think you actually did something right. This is exactly what we need from everyone else. We need them to open up a little bit so we can understand them more, you know?" He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

She flinched at first, but then relaxed and nodded. "You're absolutely right! That way we can prevent them from ticking each other off and allow us all to live a peaceful life!"

He nodded before he gently patted her back. "Exactly what I was thinking… Say, what do you think? Should we go out and find some people and get to know them a little more?" After receiving a nod from the nun, he started for the door. "Let's go find us some friends!"

 **~~FREE TIME EVENT~~**

 **[Location:** Class hall, Füller Hall **|Time:** 14:54 **]**

"Ugh, I can't believe we haven't found a single person! We've been looking for a good twenty minutes, and we haven't found a soul to speak to…" Orson groaned as he leaned against the wall near the entrance to the bridge connecting the main and red tower.

"You mustn't give up hope. I know we will meet someone soon, you just need to believe," she said gleefully with a smile. He sighed and smiled softly. "Oh, mister Myles, do you think we can go see the vending machine mister McKay was talking about? I want to see what I can buy you for being a good friend to me."

"Oh, you don't have to buy anything for me, but if you want to check out the store, it's right in the room next to us. Do you really want to check it out with me?" He asked as he turned to face her. His hand slipped into his pocket and his weight shifted onto one foot. After receiving a nod, he smiled wide and held out the hand free from the pocket. He turned his hand and motioned for her to go first.

"Thank you, Mister Myles," she cheerfully said as she slipped past him into the student store. "Wow, it's pretty full in here…" she looked around at the walls filled to the brim with items that read "Linback University" and "LU". On the floor were little push carts that had pencils and other school items loitering on the top. In the center, on top of the main counter, stood a large machine that looked more like a slot machine than a vending machine.

"You're not kidding. I barely have enough room to stand behind you," he laughed a little as he squeezed past her into the store. He stood up against one of the pushy carts, hands holding it to prevent a rollaway. "So, that big thing… We put our coin inside and we get a prize, I presume?"

"It seems that way… Would you like to try it first?" Maria asked as she turned towards him, hands clasped together at her waist. "I mean, you don't have to, of course…" She laughed a little as she looked down.

Carefully moving closer to her, he rubbed the top of her head—her habit preventing him from messing up her hair—before he slid past her. He popped the coin into the machine and waited, hearing the whirling of the gears. Appearing at the bottom, he lifted the metal slate and picked up the plastic container holding his prize.

 **ITEM ACQUIRED – SMALL SLIP**

"What is this small… 'Good for one Checkered Scarf. Please insert into slot next to machine'?" Orson read the paper aloud before he looked over at the nun. "Do you have any idea what this means?"

"I think you insert the slip over there next to the counter and it comes out of the conveyer belt over there…" She pointed to the open slot next to the counter just an inch off the ground. Orson nodded before he walked over to the small box on the counter next to the counter and slid his slip of paper into the slot. After more churning, the conveyer belt started to move. For a minute, only air came out of the open slot, until a small box made its way to the end of the belt.

Cautious, yet curious, Orson moved to the front of it and opened it up. Reaching in, he pulled out the long cloth with a black and white checkered pattern.

 **ITEM ACQUIRED – CHECKERED SCARF**

He held it up in the air at first. "It's not too bad looking… Mind if I took off your habit?" He asked as he reached up to the top of her head.

Quickly moving back, she shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't let you take this off yourself. I swore to never allow another person to undress me… but if all you want to do it see how it fits on me, I see no reason to deny completely," she smiled before she reached up and took off her habit, letting her ginger hair fall down until it hit her waist. She looked at him before she looked down slightly. "Please don't stare…" she tried to sound confident, but her voice crack gave her away.

"O-oh, sorry. I'm just surprised, that's all," he quickly looked away before he continued. "I didn't expect you to have red hair, that's all…" He squeezed the smooth cloth between his hands, only to hold it out. "Here, try it on…"

"Mister Myles, how about you put it on for me, since you have yours perfectly wrapped around your neck?" She stepped closer to him, holding her habit in her hands at her waist.

Moving closer as well, he stood in front of her with the scarf tightly gripped in his hands. Slowly, he reached around her and wrapped the scarf on one side. Bringing the other side around, he tucked it in so it wouldn't come undone. When he finished, he stepped back and smiled. "You look really beautiful with that on."

Instantly, she blushed and looked away. "Thank you, Mister Myles… Honestly, you're the nicest guy I have ever met," she looked back at him with a smile before continuing. "I used to live in a ministry that only held girls. There were about twenty of us in a room for a full hundred in total…" She quickly waved her hand, adding: "Never mind that, you probably don't really care to learn about my history…"

"Oh, no. If you want to talk about it, then by all means. Talk until your face turns blue," he smiled as he leaned against the counter.

With a nod, she looked to the sky with her eyes closed. "Mother Annabelle was the highest nun in the ministry, but she was also the strictest. There were times when girls used to run away because the rules of her way put too much stress on their shoulders. As for me, I couldn't… Where would I go?" She opened her eyes and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with a sorrow Orson had no way to comprehend.

"You see, I had been dropped off at the ministry when I was only two, and ever since, I had to grow up under Mother Annabelle's rule. To be honest, I envied the girls that managed to get away from the place to the point I lashed out when the one talked about how she knew two girls that got away. Stupid move, I know, but I had to…" With a heavy sigh, she looked down.

He moved up to her and gently placed two fingers under her chin, lifting her view up to have him in it. "Maria, I honestly admire you a little more now. Not only did you grow up into a respectable young woman, you also have—wait, that gives me an idea. Come, let's go meet up with Taylor. We need to talk to her for a bit."

 **FRIENDSHIP INCREASED  
MARIE: 1 - 2  
Marie grew up in a ministry under a harsh rule, so her talent had been  
drilled into her from youth. I wonder how she would have turned  
out if she hadn't been dropped off there.  
-Orson**

 **XXX**

 **[Location:** Gymnasium, Füller Hall **|Time:** 16:54 **]**

Unlike their meeting before, silence filled the space between the boxer and the scuba diver. He sat on the bleachers with his arms crossed and eyes on the ceiling. She sat next to him, but strung her legs over his lap as she laid down on the bleacher seat. After another few moments of silence, she spoke up. "So, Kit-Cath, what are you planning on doing today?" She asked with a giggle.

"I honestly don't know. I'm probably going to go see how Lauraine is doing and then I'll probably go to eat…" he said as he sighed. "Why are you asking me anyway? Weren't you supposed to meet up with Aiden and hang out with him?"

"Pfft. That jerk showed up one minute late, and didn't even come with a gift. It's almost like he wanted to crash and burn with me," she huffed, turning her head away. "If that wasn't enough, he didn't even bother to carry me down the hall back to the café!"

"He isn't supposed to do that, you know…" He sighed softly before he pushed her legs off his lap. "I don't know what your parents have taught you, but not every guy is your personal slave. Maybe if you acted like a modest young adult, people will treat you that way."

"Shows what you know! Most guys would kill to even be seen with me, so I don't want to hear none of that stupid talk, alright?" She growled, standing up and glaring down at him. "Especially from a guy who talks a big game, but can't say a word to the girl he truly likes."

Rolling his eyes, he stood up and walked down to the bottom of the bleachers before he turned back to her. "If you can get over yourself, then I will gladly spend time with you. Until then, why don't you go attach yourself to someone that could handle you." Without another word, he walked out of the gym.

Growling to herself, she stomped down to the bottom of the bleachers and out of the gym after him. However, by the time she got to the stairs, he had disappeared. "That god damn piece of shit…" she cursed to herself before she sighed. She chuckled to herself after looking around in the empty stairwell. The only thing there besides her was the plant set in the corner—and the sparkle hidden behind one of the leaves. She walked over and lifted the green leaf, peering underneath.

"Ufufufu… It seems that you found yourself an additional Monokuma Co— no, that sounds too close for copyright," the plush bear said as he came out from behind the gym doors. "What do you think we should name them? How does a LinCoin sound? …why does it matter what you think anyway?" He put his paws on his stomach and chuckled.

"What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be forcing those low lives to kill each other?" Synde asked as she turned around to look at the bear. "…and who gave you permission to talk to me anyway?"

"Calm down, little miss bitchy…" the bear lifted his paws before his left eye grew red. "You don't want to me talking back to your headmaster, now do you?" After receiving a sigh and a shake of her head, he laughed. "Good! Now, why don't you go use that coin at the store and test your luck? Maybe you'll get something that will impress your little crush…"

Staring down at the coin, Sydne sighed again before she closed her hand around the shiny metal. "I guess there's nothing better to do, so sure, why not… And when I say sure, I mean by myself and not with some little bear. Got it?"

"As if I would show myself to anyone less important than you," he laughed harder than last time, before hopping back and rushing into the gym. Sydne didn't bother to chase after him. Instead, she carefully made her way down the stairs to the first floor filled with classrooms.

Once at the end of the hallway, she turned to the left and entered the room that held the student store. After popping her two coins into the machine and inserting the slip of paper into the reader next to it, she opened the boxes that held her items.

 **ITEM AQUIRED – SPECIALIZED TOWEL**

 **ITEM AQUIRED – ONE PIECE SWIMSUIT**

With a look of glee on her face, she turned around and took a step—only to be stopped by a giant wall, one she truly did not want to see. "Hey there, Sydie," the wall said in that obnoxious American accent.

"What do you want, Aiden? Can't you see I'm busy here trying to get out of the store?" She asked in a sarcastic tone. "Now, if you please, move out of the damn way."

"There's no need to be so stuck up about everything… and here I thought I could come here and get a present to make up the little blunder I caused last time we had a date," he said with a nervous chuckle.

Her ears perked up before she looked up at him. "You really want to make it up to me? Aww, that's the first time anyone has attempted to do so…" She cooed before she moved to the side. "Then by all means, go ahead and roll the wheel~."

Aiden, nodding slightly, moved past her and slipped his coin into the machine. After a whirl of the gears, his box appeared to the side. He opened the flaps of the package before pulling out a small test tube with a rose planted in a small amount of soil.

 **ITEM AQUIRED – ROSE IN TUBE**

Turning around to face the girl behind him, he placed his hand on his neck before holding out his hand. "I didn't really get anything that could interest you, but I think this rose equates to your beauty."

"Oh, no, that rose is just so beautiful… Thank you, Aiden. I'm sort of sorry for being mean to just now. Hey, how about I make it up to you by hanging out with you?" She cooed, moving up against his side.

He chuckled softly as he raised his hand to his neck. "I actually would love that. What do you want to do? Right now, we can hang out in the gym, cafeteria, and some of the classrooms…" he sighed softly. "I guess there really isn't anywhere to hang out at the moment, huh."

"How about this—We hang out when there are more things to do, and maybe then you can get to know me a little better. How does that sound?" She looked up at him and winked. She slowly moved away from him and stepped over to the door, only to turn back to him. "But before I leave, I guess I should give you a little hint as to what I enjoy doing, huh…"

Aiden shrugged slightly. "That's up to you. If you want to, then go ahead. If you don't, you don't have to." He smiled softly, resulting in her rolling her eyes.

"God, sometimes you are too nice. I really like guys that a backbone and don't twist that easily for the girl in front of them… Ever since middle school, that's the only type of boy I seem to attract…" she sighed and turned to the door. "Next time you take me out to 'hang', make sure it's somewhere I can smell more roses and enjoy myself. And don't be late, got it?" Before he could answer, she left him in silence.

 **FRIENDSHIP INCREASED  
SYDNE: 1 - 2  
It seems that Sydne didn't like the boys that had crushes on her, only because  
they didn't have a "backbone" as she called it. My only wish  
in life is to be the kind of guy she wants.  
-Aiden**

Standing alone in front of the machine, he looked down at the ground. With a sigh, he pulled his head back up and started to head out of the room, stopping as soon as the speakers in the room screeched to life.

"Checking~, one two~… Seems like it works," the voice said softly before speaking again. "Hello everyone in Linback University, it's your host with the most, Victoria, and I have quite the news for you. Prodigy Orson Myles has designed a little play for you all to enjoy with your dinner, so head on down to the cafeteria before the good seats are gone," the radio announcer exclaimed before the speakers died down.


	7. Stage Production (Daily Life 1-4)

Edward gulped as he looked out through the handmade curtains hiding the small production Orson organized. Four rectangular tables were set up in a square patter directly in front of the stage with four chairs for each table. Only five were filled at the moment of Edward's examination—Aiden and Sydne sat next to each other at one end of the group. Despite Sydne's expression of annoyance, it seemed the two were getting along. A few seats away from them sat Lawrence and Mabel, both chatting about western movies. Carver filled the spot at the other end of the table, no longer dressed in his suit and tie; he instead had on a flannel and jeans, matching that the puppet that sat on his knee.

Pulling his head back inside, he turned around to find Orson's clipboard nearly colliding with his nose. "Dean, quick slacking and go over the final check list for this production. I am NOT going to have a repeat of my freshman year—and if I do, it's your head on the platter, got it?" Orson asked sternly. Slowly, Edward took the clipboard and watched as Orson turned his body away from the body. "Starting from the top, do we have the set pieces in place?"

"Yeah, Taylor and Misty finished painting the, uhm, backdrops. Cath and Richard moved them to their proper locations like you asked…" Edward paused and looked down at the clipboard. "And it seems that the building pieces are in place to."

"Good, good. Walk with me for a minute, alright?" Orson gently placed an arm around the boy's arm and started to pull him along. "Tell me, are our actors ready for their debut production? If we don't have them in place, this entire thing is going to fall through—"

"You don't have to worry about that. They're going over their final practice and it seemed like they knew the lines well, which is surprising given they just got them not too long ago," Edward mumbled softly. "Especially Richard. He's the one that usually has the hardest—"

"How is our lighting situation?" Orson cut the boy off as they arrived near the back of the cafeteria. "I entrust you managed to figure the switches for this area."

Edward sighed and turned to the side. Near the switches stood Tori, who waited patiently for her signal. "I told her exactly which switch to hit and when. And given the number of shifts, I highly doubt she could get this wrong."

"That's great news. It really is…" Orson sighed before he turned to face Edward directly. He crossed his arms over his body and looked down at the space between them. "I really have to thank you for doing this for me. After all, you—"

"Ahh, no. You don't have to thank me at all, alright? I'm just glad to see you putting on something that will bring all of us together. While the script is kinda doing the opposite, I feel like this will prevent us from actually falling prey to whatever is happening here, you know?" Edward smiled softly as he placed the clipboard behind his back.

Orson looked up at the smiling boy, only to return the smile. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Alright, let's get ready to put on the best show this world's ever seen!"

XXX

The lights dimmed over the heads of the audience, drawing a cheer out of Mabel and Aiden. Up on the stage, Orson stood with his hands placed loosely behind him. He awkwardly cleared his throat and began to speak. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming to see the first ever Linback University production of a play written personally by one of our very own. I'm sure you all know the man named Edward Dean, right? It was his genius that allowed us to have this show tonight. If he hadn't managed to write this tale for us, we'd probably be stuck doing a remake of Romeo and Juliet," he chuckled a bit before continuing, "and boy, am I happy to be the one directing this specially made production. Now, without further ado, enjoy the production of 'Passions of the Heart." He slipped through the curtains and the lights turned off for a moment.

The lights surrounding the stage lit up as the curtains drew back to expose the inside of a cafeteria. A table sat in the center of the makeshift stage with four bodies around it. Orson, Richard, Babs, and Maria sat around the table, in outfits that completely changed their appearances. Orson dressed in a plaid dress shirt and blue jeans, complete with glasses taped at the bridge and suspenders. Richard wore a letterman's jacket and his jeans, almost as if he were playing himself. A pink frilly dress that nearly matched her hair color attached itself to Babs. The one that surprised the audience the most came from Maria, who wore a dark blue sweater, black dress pants, and the checkered scarf that Orson gave her.

After a few moments of silence, Orson spoke up. "Can you believe it's already senior year?" He asked to the other three at the table. "Just one more year and we can finally get out of this town."

Richard sighed softly and looked over to Maria. "One more year and we can finally move out of this town, huh?" She gently giggled at his statement, much to Orson's dismay. "What do you two plan on doing once you graduate?" Richard asked as he looked over at the others.

"Well, I know I'm going on to college to finally learn how to make my dreams a reality," Babs squealed as she squirmed in her seat. "You guys know how much I want to make dresses like these. It's not every day you get an opportunity to do something you love…"

Orson looked over at Babs and smiled. "That's a really sweet thing you want to do, you know? You know exactly what you want to do, and I'm just here, unsure what I want to do with my life."

"Aww, don't say that Adam. I just know you'll figure out what you're going to do once you start school," Babs responded quickly, taking the boy's hand into hers. "Same as the rest of you. I just know you'll figure out what you want to do when the time comes."

"Didn't I tell you, Stacy? I already know what I'm going to school for. Being top lineman in this side of America, every school lined up to sign me for their team—"

"Can you ever shut up about your stupid line up? That's all you ever talk about!" Orson interrupted with a stern glare. "No matter what we're talking about, you always seem to push your only accomplishment into it. Face it, Rick, you're nothing more than a peaked child who can't do anything more than hitting a slab of meat with your body."

"The fuck you say?" Richard cursed as he stood up from his seat. "You think you're any better than me? At least I achieved something! You're here just existing like that's something to be proud of!"

"R-Ricky… please, don't start up another fight over this… You remember the last one," Maria mumbled softly to Richard, gently grabbing onto his arm. "And you remember how you almost got expelled because of it. So please…"

"You better listen to your girl, Rick, or else you can kiss that scholarship goodbye!" Orson teased before he pulled Babs up to her feet. "Let's go, Stacy, before Rick decides to throw a bigger fit." Without another word, the two ran off stage left, leaving Richard and Maria on center stage by themselves.

"I'm sorry, Faye, for almost losing my temper again… But he knows I worked so hard to get where I am, and him? He doesn't even know what he wants to do," Richard moaned as he looked down at the ground.

"You know I understand, but I can't have you being expelled because of someone who thinks they're better than you. You are the best person in the world, Ricky, so please ignore them, alright?" Maria said. She reached over, placing her two hands on his cheeks. Slowly, she turned his head to look at her. "Got it?" After receiving a nod, she leaned up to give him a kiss—

Darkness enveloped the room, leaving nothing but the exit sign visible. "Why the hell did the lights go out?!" Orson called from the side of the stage. "Tori! Dean! What is going on?!"

Edward moved along the edge of the room, feeling the cold metal plates against the windows and the smooth concrete bricks lining the walls. It felt like he walked a good five minutes before he found the two small switches placed in the center of the wall. He flipped them both, resulting in him closing his eyes from the sudden light change. When he opened them up, he found everyone where they were originally—almost everyone that is. Two people were missing from the cafeteria. Tori, the Ultimate Radio Announcer, and Carver, the Ultimate Ventriloquist.

"Dean, where did Tori go, and why did she leave her post?" Orson asked as he approached the writer on the other side of the room. "I thought you said you talked to her about her job?"

"I did, Orson, and I don't know why she left. I told her exactly when to flip the lights," Edward mumbled as he turned to face the area behind the stage director. "But it doesn't look like she was the only one to leave…"

"What? Who left during our production? It was probably one of those scumbags that looked uninterested before the thing even started, wasn't it?" Orson growled, only to gasp when he found out who. "Wait, it was puppet boy who left? He was one that I thought for sure actually enjoyed the play—not saying it was bad or anything…"

"No, I understand. While I can't say I agree with you about him enjoying it, since Taylor had me preoccupied in the back, I will say that the performance from you guys was great. You seemed almost natural in your role, Orson," Edward teased softly, only to turn towards the door of the cafeteria. "I guess we should go look for the two of them, huh…"

"Let us pray that nothing bad happened to either of them. We do not need someone falling into the foolish game whoever trapped us here wants us to play," Maria stated as she appeared next to Orson, who in turn, let out a soft shriek of surprise. "Oh, did I scare you Mister Myles."

"I told you that I scare easily…" the stage director huffed, receiving a chuckle from the other two. "It's not funny!"

"You're right, I'm sorry. Your shriek is very cute though—shall we investigate the other areas for signs of Mister Landau and Miss Floros?" Maria asked, receiving a nod from her classmates. "I shall ask the others to participate in the search too. Please, carry on without me."

"If you say so. Alright, Dean, let's go look for these play-crashers," Orson started to head towards the door with Edward next to him. "When I find Tori, I swear to god, I'm going to give her a stern lecture on why you shouldn't ruin a production of quality like ours. Imagine if we managed to get all the way to the end, they would have cried their eyes out!"

"Well, we didn't, so we'll have to continue the production tomorrow night," Edward stopped the two once they were in the foyer of the Academic Center. "You take the dorm area and I'll cover Füller Hall. This way we'll cover more ground."

"Got it, and if you find the two of them, drag them back if you have to," was all Orson said before he ran up the stairs to the left. Edward turned around and started towards the bridge connecting the center to the only open building.


End file.
